Sing for Me
by M. Beth Tora
Summary: "Do I like Murdoc? I mean, I strongly admire him and I appreciate that he gave me this job, but is there more beyond that?" Rated M for later… intimate scenes. COMPLETED!
1. Strained E String

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Gorillaz, Jamie Hewlett does. But I do own Charley

**Rating:** M- for later… intimate scenes

Chapter 1: Strained E String

It ceased to amaze Charley how weird her new family was. She couldn't really even remember how she got into this family, but she remembered why she did; she was the back up singer and guitarist. But more or less, she was really getting paid to be a groupie or a fan-girl. Actually, she was more of the mom, the house keeper, the cook, the back up singer and the guitarist. But she didn't mind, she liked being in this weird family. She took care of everyone in a motherly sort of way, but also in the way of a manager or a neighbor- making sure everyone ate, practiced, slept, rested and got along. The last one was a bit difficult though… But when she wasn't playing mom, she sat outside on the balcony and looked at the sky.

"_Maybe we should clean up the mountain… maybe recover it with grass or something… not bother the graves of course, but just make it more pleasant here,"_ she thought to herself as she sat on the fence like guard on the balcony. She heard a flapping of wings behind her, which soon came to be beside her. When she looked, she saw a black greasy looking raven perch next to her on the fence.

"Hello, Cortez," she greeted before stroking the top of the coughing creatures head. She knew that the bird's owner wasn't far behind them, probably right behind them for that matter.

"Are you here to nag me, or is there some other reason for you to come up and visit me?" Charley said turning to look at Murdoc. He stood, leaning up against the door frame which led into the kitchen.

"Naw, no nagging today, just coming out to see what you fancy about being out 'ere," the bassist said as he approached the woman, Cortez quickly flying up to perch on his shoulder. He leaned against the wooden railing and looked out at the environment in front of them, if that's what you could call the valley of garbage.

"I come out here to think and plan; sometimes to de-stress myself. You think it's easy to take care of you all?" Charley teased with a smile as she looked back out at the scenery.

"Nothin' is easy with us. If it was, do you think it'd be nearly as interesting as it is now?" Murdoc commented as Cortez pulled on a part of his owner's hair.

"I guess not," the girl commented as she made the fowl stop its actions, only to jump off of Murdoc's shoulder to go onto hers. The two sat in silence for a while, not saying anything- nor really needing to. Cortez would occasionally cough its strange call, but other than that it was quiet. The content sound of nothing was interrupted by a gentle cough. The two looked back to find the band's drummer.

"Are you two done bonding?" Russel asked as he stuck his massive hands into his pockets.

"I'm not sure this is considered bonding," Charley said swinging her leg that hung from the railing.

"We need to practice, and we're waiting on you guys," the New Yorker said flatly with a shrug. The two stood up and followed the drummer into the building. It didn't take very long for them to get into the recording studio. Charley really didn't do anything but help them warm up and tune up. Being back up just meant being ready to jump in when she was needed, Murdoc had made that very clear when she joined the band.

"Charley, did that sound right? It sounded kind of funny to me," 2D asked from the other side of the one way mirror.

"It did sound a bit strange… maybe one of you guys are still out of tune?" she suggested.

"My guitar is acting strangely, maybe it's me," Noodle said looking at the guitar. Charley came in and looked at the instrument.

"Your low E string is looking like it's gonna snap. It may be best if you either switch guitars or we stop practice," she said as she took the guitar.

"Oh! Oh! I vote for ending practice early!" 2D chirped happily before being smacked upside the head by Murdoc.

"What would we do if we ended it early?" the bassist inquired.

"Go to the closest music store and get a new E string; unless you guys just happen to have a box of guitar strings," The red-head stated as she put her free hand on her hip.

"She's got a point, the only other guitar is the electric, and we need acoustic for this song," Russel said as he scratched his head with one of his drum stick.

"Fine, we'll take a break and get Noodle a new E string. But when we get back, it's back to practice, clear?" Murdoc said.

"Crystal!" 2D chirped before practically skipping out of the studio.

"So are we all going?" Russel asked as he got up from his drums.

"Nope, it's just gonna be me and Noodle," Murdoc said taking the guitar from the red-head.

"You mean Noodle and me," Charley corrected.

"Look, I'm 41-years-old; I think I know my grammar," Murdoc barked.

"Fine, use improper grammar. It's not like anyone actually cares," the woman said holding up her hands in defense. The bassist sneered and he and the Japanese girl headed out.

"Seriously, sometimes I wonder who is more mature; you or Murdoc," Russel said resting one of his massive hands on Charley's shoulder.

"It's amazing his, like, twice my age and acts like he's a teenage boy filled with sexual hormones," she said with a sigh.

A little later, Charley sat on the couch in front of the TV whist playing her DS. 2D was watching one of his cheesy zombie movies and Russel was off somewhere doing whatever he does in his spare time.

"Hey, Charley," 2D said looking at the back up singer.

"What's shakin'?" she said without looking away from her game.

"One, what are you playing? Two, do you have a fing for Murdoc?" the singer asked as he tried to see what Charley was playing.

"Pokemon," the woman responded, totally ignoring the second question. To tell the truth, she had absolutely no idea if she had a "thing" for Murdoc. He was very talented, very… interesting, very smart, and rather attractive in his own very weird way. But there was the fact that he was a total… man-whore, with a lack for a better word. And he seemed to have a bad habit of being a total ass to everyone around him.

"C'mon! Do you or don't you?" 2D whined.

"Does she or doesn't she what?" came a voice from behind the couch. Charley paused her game to look up to see who it was.

"Hello Murdoc. 2D wanted to know if I wanted a puppy, and I don't really know whether or not I do," she said before going back to her game. "Did you find that E string?"

"Would you believe that they were all out? Apparently E strings have been breaking all over the place," the bassist said before plopping himself in between 2D and Charley. The red-head was happy that Murdoc seemed to accept her answer, and hopefully 2D understood the subliminal message.

After about 4 hours, Charley had made dinner, everyone ate (except for Murdoc, apparently he wasn't hungry), and she was back out on the balcony. 2D's question still buzzed in her mind.

"_Do I like Murdoc? I mean, I strongly admire him and I appreciate that he gave me this job, but is there more beyond that?"_ she thought before looking at the building she called home. It still looked horrible and was in great need of repair. She thought for a bit before taking out her phone and dialing.


	2. Rebuilding, a New Room and Vacation

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Gorillaz, Jamie Hewlett does. But I do own Charley

**Rating:** M- for later… intimate scenes

Chapter 2: Rebuilding, a New Room and Vacation

"We are going to go on vacation," Charley said the next morning during breakfast. 2D cheered happily and Noodle smiled.

"Um… why?" Russel asked before sipping his coffee.

"Well, we need to take a break from work," the red-head stated with a smile. She didn't want to tell them that she had a surprise for them.

"That may be true, but is Murdoc cool with this?" the large black man asked after swallowing a large mouthful of pancakes.

"I'll talk to him about it later," Charley brushed off. But it did remind her to confront the bassist about her choice.

After breakfast, the young woman headed down to the car park to find her destination, the Winnebago. Unfortunately, she would have to wait; it was rocking.

"Who the hell orders a prostitute at nine AM?" she mumbled before sitting in one of the many cars that were parked out there. She waited a good two hours before anything happened; which happened to be that the winne stopped moving. But Charley waited a little longer to see if they would start up again or if they were done. Not too long after, a woman came out of the vehicle, blew a kiss inside and then left.

The red-head got up and went to go look inside of the place Murdoc normally resided. He was in his bed, smoking and looking rather satisfied.

"Is it safe to come in, or do I need to wait for a while longer?" Charley asked as she leaned against the doorframe.

"Why would you want to come in?" Murdoc inquired without looking away from the ceiling.

"Because I want to talk to you about something," the young woman said as she walked inside and sat (more or less) under the bed.

"If it's about payment, don't start with me," the bassist said as he flicked some of the ash off of his drug.

"No, it's more of going on vacation," the red-head stated flatly.

"Why would we need to go on vacation?" the man retorted.

"Two reasons; one, we work too hard. And two, I am paying someone to more or less rebuild Kong- so we need to be out of their way," Charley said as she picked at her shoe.

"You're doing WHAT?!" Murdoc sounded either really shocked or really pissed as he looked down at the girl.

"This place is falling apart around us, Murdoc! And it's not like _you're _paying for it! It's coming out of _my_ pocket, 110% of it!" the woman said looking back up at him.

"They could take our stuff!"

"We have more than enough stuff, Muds. If they take something, it's not like we can't replace it. And like I said, this is a hazard the way it is. A pretty penny and a few items are not worth dying over," Charley did have a very strong point.

"What exactly are they going to do?" Murdoc asked, sounding calmer than before.

"They are just going to fix up the frame, rebuild Noodle's room and probably clean up the mountain. If we're lucky, they may even chase out the zombies upstairs," the red-head explained flatly.

"What about you?"

"What _about _me?"

"Aren't you going to, I dunno, build yourself a room or something?" This sort of startled Charley.

"No… I was just fixing things up, not adding anything. I'm fine with living on the couch." She really didn't know how to respond to this.

"How about this, seein' as Russel's been on my case about getting you a place to sleep at night- I'll pay to have those guys build you a room. But you still pay for everything else," Murdoc said sounding like he was trying to make it fair. Charley thought for a while before responding.

"If you throw in some cash for furniture, it's a deal." It wasn't a great deal, but at least Murdoc was agreeing to let her do this.

"So… what do I need to bring for this 'vacation'?"

It didn't take very long for everyone to get packed up. Considering that this "vacation" was going to last anywhere between two weeks and a month and a half, everyone packed a lot; thus resulting in having too much stuff to use the jeep to get to where ever they were going to stay.

"Where are we going to stay anyway, Charley?" 2D asked as they all loaded their things into a truck (that Murdoc had conveniently gotten several months in advanced). The young woman thought for a moment, realizing she hadn't really gotten that far into the plan.

"Where does everyone want to go?" she asked with a shrug.

"Oh! Oh! How about California? It was way fun the last time we went there," 2D said with a huge grin.

"I think we should go somewhere close by, just to make sure that we can go back every so often to check on everything," Russel suggested.

"How about not. I vote on MEXICO!" Murdoc said in an uncharacteristically happy way.

"What is with you and Mexico?" Russel asked shaking his head.

"Where do you want to go, Charley? We don't seem to agree on anything," Noodle asked looking at her band mate.

"Somewhere either near the beach or in Ireland," Charley shrugged.

"Ireland sounds nice; wide open spaces, lots of Celtic music…" Noodle trailed off into her own thoughts.

"Uh… we haven't been to Ireland before… maybe we could go on an adventure," the drummer stated while rubbing the back of his head.

"TO IRELAND!" 2D cheered before jumping into the truck. The vacation thus began, and lasted about two months. Most of it consisted of Murdoc getting in trouble, being chased by rabid fans, swimming in the pools, catching some rays (although Charley was naturally rather tan), and just being tourists. Shockingly enough, everyone almost forgot that they needed to go back home. But everyone (other than Charley and Murdoc) was very surprised when they got back to Kong…

"What the hell?!" Russel shouted as he looked up at their home. The building looked good as new, much better than how it had looked when they had originally gotten it and significantly different than how they had left it.

"Kong looks wonderful! It's as if it were fixed by magic!" Noodle cheered as she ran up the newly paved pathway up to Kong.

"How'd it get this way?" 2D said as he looked at the new grass that had replaced the garbage that once took up the majority of the ground.

"The real reason I suggested vacation was because I wanted to fix up the place; and it wouldn't be safe if we were there during construction," Charley said with a smile as she began on the path up the mountain.

Once they got inside, everyone's mouths dropped. The interior was just as good (if not better) as the exterior. Everything was cleaned up, repainted, retiled, recarpetted, re-everything. 2D and Noodle instantly ran into the building to see what else had been made better. Russel chose to head up to his room.

"So, Charley. Wanna see your new wing?" Murdoc asked in a very prerogative manner. Charley was sort of nervous, but followed the bassist up the stairs. Eventually they reach a hallway, which had four doors.

"This part of the house is yours, already furnished and everything- as promised," Murdoc said before opening one of the doors. Inside was a softly painted room, lots of soft creams, pinks, greens and yellows decorated the room. There was a queen-sized bed right in front of the door, a desk opposite of the door next to a sliding glass door (equipted with Charley's laptop and a lamp). A couch was across from the desk, next to a stereo. On the other side of the bed was yet another door.

"Back there is a bathroom, you have your own balcony, across the hall you have an entertainment center, next to this room is a library and the other room… eh, I couldn't decide what to do with that room," Murdoc said as Charley walked into her room and looked around.

"You didn't have to do this Murdoc. We agree on a bed room, not an entire wing," the red head stated, sounding concerned.

"Do I need to have a reason to dote upon you? But this is a one time thing. Don't expect me to do anything like this ever again," the bassist said before walking away from the room and out of Charley's new space. The girl in question sat on her new bed and thought for a little bit.

"_Do I need to have a reason to dote upon you?"_ This statement buzzed in Charley's mind as she sat there.

"You don't do anything unless you benefit from it…"


	3. Talking over Laundry

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Gorillaz, Jamie Hewlett does. But I do own Charley

**Rating:** M- for later… intimate scenes

Chapter 3:

Talking over Laundry

Once everyone got settled into the new and greatly improved Kong, things got back to the way they were before.

"Dullard! You skipped that line again!" Murdoc yelled at 2D. This had been going on for about two hours, and practice normally took one hour at the most.

"I'm not skippin' it, you are repeating the same part!" 2D whined before Murdoc grabbed the singer.

"HEY! Both of you knock it off!" Charley shouted as she ran inside the practice room and pulled the two men away from each other.

"It's not my fault, Charley! The music you set up for me is confusing," 2D said to the young woman as he looked at the sheet music.

"2D, I'm working on getting you just the lyrics. But Murdoc is right, you are skipping ahead. I'm sorry this is confusing for you, but just try to work with each other and HELP each other instead of beating the shit out of one another," Charley said as she looked at the sheet music and jotted some things down. She could just feel the Murdoc was giving 2D the "I told you so" look. After handing back the music, Charley left the practice room and they started again. While they worked on the song, Charley was converting the sheet music into flat out lyrics for the singer. No, she wasn't being paid to do it, but Murdoc wouldn't and the others had a hard time doing that sort of thing.

"DON'T HURT ME!" 2D cried out as he ran out of the practice room and hid behind the red-head. Murdoc came out looking like he was ready to kill the singer.

"BOTH OF YOU GET A GRIP!" the young lady yelled as she grabbed the bass out of its owner's hands and pulled up the singer.

"You two are worse than cats and dogs! I know this is hard and I know you are ready to kill each other, but rather than beating each other into the next year- you need to suck up your pride for at most an hour and help each other out!" she said glaring at the both of them.

"2D, you are 30 years old now, you should be able to stand up for yourself and tell Murdoc that he can stick it up his butt. Murdoc, you have been working with this band for more than seven years and you can't even tell them what is wrong and try to help?! Both of you need to act your age and get to work!" both of the men stood with mouths agape and the fuming red-head.

"Now, I have finished converting the lyrics from the music. This should make things go more smoothly. I want you both to get a grip, get back in there and PRACTICE! And I'm not letting you guys out until you get through the song once without stopping or killing each other. Are we clear?" Charley said as she handed 2D the lyrics. Neither said anything as they continued to stare at her.

"I said, ARE WE CLEAR?" she barked, scaring both men.

"C-C-Crystal!" 2D stuttered before zooming into the other room. Murdoc said nothing, but went to join his other band members.

"Now, let's start from the top," Charley said as she looked into the window that viewed into the practice room. Strangely enough, they managed to get straight through the song the first time. Everyone left the room, but Russel stayed with Charley.

"What was that?! I've never seen you so mad!" the drummer asked in total awe.

"I am so sick of those two bickering and beating each other up. I just finally snapped. And as you see, they shut up and got back to work," the young woman said as she relaxed against the chair.

"I thought Murdoc was going to shit his pants! I mean, no one has scared him like that… or actually stood up to him. And I don't even know what to say about 2D. Woman, you should be a dictator or something," Russel said with a laugh.

"I wanted to be when I was a kid, but being loud and forward sort of comes with being short," the red-head said getting up and stretching.

A while later, Charley went around Kong getting laundry. By the time she had gotten hers, Russel's and Noodle's, she was surprised that she was keeping balance. She was happy that Murdoc and 2D were right next to the laundry room.

"Oi! Charley!" the sudden call to her startled the girl, causing her to almost drop the mountain of clothes she was holding.

"My arms are full and it's heavy," she said as she continued to attempt to get over to the laundry room. Two of the baskets were removed to show Murdoc, who now was in possession of Russel and Noodle's laundry.

"Are you going to help me or are you just going to scold me for telling you off," Charley asked as she started towards her destination.

"A little of both; what the hell happened back there?" the bassist asked as they walked into the wash room.

"You two were out of control and I wanted it to stop, so I blew up," the young woman said as she set down her basket and took Russel's from Murdoc.

"I'll say you blew up! I've seen Satan himself and he would have coward under your wrath. I mean, DAMN WOMAN!" the man said as he watched Charley put Russel's clothes into the washing machine.

"Are you impressed that I would scare Lucifer, impressed that I stood up to you or are you miffed that I got in your face?" Charley asked as she set Noodles basket next to the washer next to her own clothes. "Got any dirty laundry?"

"I'm impressed that you had the guts to stand up to me considering the fact that I could fire you," Murdoc said as they walked to his Winnebago. He walked inside and seemed to rummage through the things in the car before coming out with a basket overflowing with clothes.

"I'm well aware of the fact that I was risking my job, but I think that you would like to keep me so that way I can keep playing mom," the red head stated as she took the basket, ignoring the fowl stench. They headed back to the wash room and set the basket next to Noodle's.

"It is nice to have this place in order, but don't think you can pull a stunt like that again," the bassist said as he sat on the drier.

"I don't think I could pull a stunt like that again, nor do I want to. I don't like conflict and it's a waste of energy to yell at you guys," the young woman said flatly. "Scoot your booch, I wanna sit next to you." Murdoc scooted over and allowed Charley to join him on the drier.

This was another moment where neither of them spoke, nor did they need too. It was strange that they could just sit next to each other and just be at peace. It wasn't awkward; it was just something that happened.

"How many times have we just sat like this and not said anything?" Charley asked without looking at the other.

"I dunno… Hell, I don't even know when we started doing this. Or even why we do this," Murdoc said as he pulled out a cancer stick and lit it.

"Your lungs are gonna turn to ash if you keep doing that," the young woman said flatly. The only response she got was a hand that ruffled her hair.

It was probably an hour or two that anything happened, which was that Charley got up to change the laundry.

"You need to move a bit so I can dry Russel's clothes," she said as she took out the moist clothes. The bassist got up and opened the drier. The laundry was quickly shoved into the machine along with a fabric softener before the drier was closed and turned on. Charley quickly put her own clothes and detergent into the washing machine and turned it on as well. The two then went back to their place on the drier.

"Aren't you going to get 2D's clothes?" Murdoc asked before taking a drag.

"He washes his own clothes," the young woman responded before resting her head on the bassist's shoulder. This was the first time she had done anything like this, but it wasn't rejected. Murdoc just threw his arm over her shoulder and rested his head on top of hers.

"What are we?" Charley asked as they sat there.

"We are the Gorillaz, you should know that by now," the older man responded flatly.

"No, I mean, what are you and I?" the red-head asked. There was a thoughtful silence before the bassist said anything.

"We are co-workers, but I guess you're the closest thing to a friend I've got." Charley thought about this answer, and accepted it.

"I consider you a friend too. But our friendship is very strange," she said as she rested her arm around his waist.

"Is anything in our lives normal?" Murdoc said before blowing a smoke ring. This seemed to be a good enough response. For the next few hours, the two remained that way, comfortable with each other's presents. This was either the beginning of a beautiful relationship or the beginning of a very weird experience.


	4. Lunch

Chapter 4: Lunch

The next day, Charley sat in the laundry room, folding laundry whilst listening to a demo CD that Murdoc wanted her to hear and critique. As she stared blankly at the wall in front of her, a rather busty looking blond walked in.

"Hey, are you Charley?" the woman asked as she looked at the girl.

"Who wants to know?" the red-head asked as she took one of the ear phones away from her ear.

"My name is Roxy. Murdoc asked me to ask if you have his 'HS' shirt. He said that you would know what it was," the woman said as she flipped part of her hair. Charley picked up a grey shirt with a picture of what was assumed to be the devil and the words "Hail Satan" printed.

"Is there anything else he wants?" the younger woman asked as she handed Roxy the requested shirt.

"Not at the moment, but he is getting hungry. I know he is, so you might wanna get someone to make him food," the blond said as she took the shirt and left. Charley rolled her eyes and went back to the task at hand. Once she was done (a half an hour later), she began taking baskets of folded clothes to their owners. The Winnebago was rocking, so Charley just set Murdoc's basket in front of the door.

"You have fresh clothes now!" she shouted before heading over to the stair case. She stopped in front of Russel's room and knocked on the door. It took a while, but the drummer soon answered the door.

"Here are your clothes," the red-head said as she held up the black man's basket.

"Awesome, Charley, thanks!" Russel said as he took the clothes and set them inside. He then took out his wallet and pulled out some money.

"Oh, Russ, you don't have to do that," Charley said holding up her hands.

"Murdoc isn't gonna pay you any time soon, and you deserve some cash for everything you do for us," the drummer said as he stuck the money in the girl's apron pocket. She smiled and nodded before picking up the other two baskets and heading over to Noodle's room. Charley knocked on the door, and it was answered quickly.

"YAY! I get clothes!" the teen said as she took her basket.

Charley finally got to her room and set the basket inside. She would have to actually put her clothes away later; she needed to start on everyone's lunch. But before she even got to the door, there was a gentle knock. She opened the door only to find Murdoc there, wearing some of his new clean clothes.

"Yes?" she said with a smile as she leaned against the door frame. The bassist said nothing as he took out his wallet. He pulled out a nice bundle of cash before counting out some bills. He put away some of the cash and held out the rest.

"Your pay for the month, err… the past four months…" Murdoc said, sounding like he really didn't want to give up this money.

Charley smile warmed as she took the money and put it in her apron pocket. She then stepped closer to the bassist and planted a quick kiss on his cheek (with a little effort considering the fact that she was about 7 inches shorter than him.)

"Thank you, Murdoc. I was going to start on lunch, you wanna keep me company?" she asked. The bassist smiled and nodded. The two then headed down to the kitchen in almost silence.

"So is Roxy going to stay for lunch, or is it just going to be the five of us?" Charley said as she took out some bread.

"Roxy left already, so you don't have to make any more than you normally would," Murdoc said as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

"She seems like a nice woman, maybe she could just come over and hang out," the young woman said as she put some of the bread into the toaster.

"You can do whatever you want with her, but she costs $30 an hour," the bassist responded before taking a drag. "What's for lunch?"

"Lunch meat sandwiches, 2D get's PB&J. You want anything different?" Charley said as she took out the lunch meat and other things for the sandwiches.

"I don't care what you make, for the first time in weeks I'm actually hungry," the man said as he walked up behind the young woman and watched her work on 2D's sandwich. Charley felt arms wrap around her waist and a head rest on the top of her head (seeing as there was a considerable difference in their height.)

"Yes?" she said with a smile as she put the sandwich together and began cutting off the crust.

"Nothin', you're just comfy," Murdoc said, continuing to watch his fellow band mate work.

"You've been acting rather sweet today, it's rather unlike you. Did something good happen that I'm unaware of?" the red-head inquired as she cute the sandwich in half and set it on a plate.

"Nothin's happened, I'm just in a good mood," the bassist stated, sounding very calm and relaxed. Charley started to work on what could be assumed to be Russel's sandwich.

"How do you know what we like and what we don't?" he asked as the two began to absentmindedly sway.

"I've been here for almost a year, it's important that I know everything I can," the young woman said as she enjoyed this comfortable moment.

"Am I interrupting something?" Russel's voice came from the Kitchen entrance. Murdoc let go of Charley and headed over to the table.

"Nope, we were just enjoying each other's presents," the young woman said as she continued to work on the food.

"You seemed rather comfortable," the drummer said, sounding like he wasn't too happy with the fact that the bassist was so close to the red-head.

"Nothing was happening," she said as she handed Russel his sandwich. The New Yorker smiled and sat at the table before beginning to eat. 2D then entered the room and went over to Charley.

"Here you go, 2D. PB&J, no crust, on white bread, cut into triangles," the young woman said with a smile as she held up the sandwich. The singer chirped happily and took the food before going over to the table. The red-head then handed Murdoc his sandwich and a bottle of beer before going out and calling for Noodle.

"So Charley, other than chores, what have you been doing all morning?" Russel asked as the young Japanese girl came in and received her food.

"I listened to part of Murdoc's demo CD, but that's about it. I've been pretty busy," Charley said as she joined everyone at the table with her own sandwich.

"You work too hard, girl. You need some help," the drummer said with a full mouth.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Russel. And I would like some help, but you guys don't clean up after yourselves. 2D is the only one who does his own laundry, but I need to get the groceries, get everyone's meds, make food, clean up and take care of you guys. I also need to practice. It would help if you guys could clean up after yourselves and do your own laundry," Charley said.

"You're the one who get's all my meds? I've been wondering how everything seems to just magically appear where their supposed to," 2D said sounding amazed. Murdoc smacked the singer upside the head before going back to his food.

"Maybe we could all get our own list of chores! Then you wouldn't have to work so hard!" Noodle suggested happily.

"Well, it would be convenient, but I sort of enjoy doing a fair amount of my chores. I feel like I can actually do something for the band," Charley said as she took a bite of her own sandwich.

"Well, just give us the chores you don't like to do. You work really hard and you shouldn't strain yourself," Russel said before going to the fridge and grabbing a soda.

"Alright, by the end of the day, I'll have a list of chores for each of you. But don't expect it to be very long," the red head said before giving 2D a paper towel. "You have mayo on your nose."

Later on, Charley sat in her room working on the lists of chores for the other band mates. More or less, they just needed to clean their rooms and do one or two other chores. She really couldn't come up with anything else. There was a knock at the door that interrupted her work. She got up tiredly and answered it. 2D stood before her looking nervous.

"Well, well, you don't often come to visit me; at least not since I got my own room," the young woman said with a smile.

"We got you a present. As a way of saying fank you for everyfing you do for us," the singer said as he held up a box. Charley took it and opened it up delicately. Inside where four things; a penguin shirt, the book "The Green Mile", a hat and a diamond choker.

"Aw, thank you 2D. This is very sweet of you," she said looking up at 2D.

"I hoped you would like it. Russel got you the book, I got you the shirt, Noodle got you the hat and Murdoc got you the choker. We all pitched in to get you something nice," the blue haired man said as he changed his weight from one foot to another.

"They are all very thoughtful gifts. I'll wear them tomorrow and get started on the book tonight," Charley said before hugging her friend. After he left, the young woman smiled and set the box on her bed before going back to work.

"_I am blessed to have such wonderful friends…"_


	5. Ave Maria, oh crap

Chapter 5: Ave Maria, oh crap

"I have printed out your chores. They aren't hard and could be finished in about 15 to 20 minuets," Charley said as she handed each member of the band pieces of paper over breakfast.

"Clean up room once a week, vacuum living room… is that it?" Russel asked as he looked up at the young woman.

"I also got cleaning my room, but I have to sweep and mop the corridors," Noodle said as she looked at her paper.

"Clean room, wash windows, feed dog… why do I get free?" 2D whined as he looked at his paper.

"That's nothin'! I gotta clean Winnebago, feed Cortez, sweep porch, pay bills, what's with all this rubbish?!" Murdoc said as he stabbed his pancakes.

"You are the leader of the band, aren't you? You need to do more than the others. Besides, I still have to make meals, wash dishes, get groceries, get meds, do laundry, dust everything, and that's not even half of it. You have very few things to do. Now finish your breakfast, we still need to practice," Charley said as she adjusted her hat.

"I see you like our presents, Charley!" Noodle said happily.

"I do! Thank you all for chipping in to get me such nice things," the young woman said with a warm smile.

"Have you started reading your book?" Russel asked as he finished up his steak and eggs.

"I have! I'm gonna try and read it every night," the red head explained as she took the drummers dishes and set them by the sink.

"I'm curious, luv. When do you have the time to do all of those chores?" Murdoc asked before taking a swig of his beer.

"I do it while you guys practice and just chill out. But now that I have a little less to do, I should also have a little time to myself," Charley said while taking Noodle and 2D's empty plates and placing them with Russel's.

"I dunno whether you are being paid to be the maid or an actual band member. By the way, have you been paid yet?" Russel said as he shot an annoyed look at Murdoc.

"I paid her yesterday! And I just finished a song that she's gonna be singing in! Geez, cut me a break, man!" the bassist claimed in defense. Charley looked shocked at Murdoc's statement; she was actually going to sing in one of their songs.

"Am I going to be back up?" she asked before taking Murdoc's plate, which was hardly touched.

"Nope! You're actually going to be lead this time, 2D is gonna be back up," the bassist said lifting the bottle up to the young woman. This was a first.

"Yay! I haven't heard Charley sing before!" Noodle cheered as she got up and hugged Charley. To say the red-head was surprised was an understatement; never had she thought that she would be heard as more than back up, let alone lead.

A little later, Charley stood in the practice room in front of the microphone, looking at her own reflection in the one way window. She felt like she was in a daze, or a dream; she couldn't really believe that she would actually be in this room to sing.

"Charley~ Murdoc put the lyrics in the music again~" 2D whined as he looked at his sheet music. The young woman snapped out of her trance and looked at the paper.

"I'll translate it for you," she said before the paper was taken from her.

"Nope, you won't. I will," Murdoc said as he went into the other room. Charley was kind of hoping she could do it so that way she could make her own copy.

It didn't take long before the bassist came out with three pieces of paper.

"Here, I made copies for both of you. The sheet music is mine," he said as he shoved the paper at each of them. Both of the singers looked over the lyrics in thought as the others tuned up.

"You made spelling errors," Charley said as she read over the song.

"Bite me," was the only response she got. She rolled her eyes before warming up her own voice. After a little while, she noticed the sounds of the other instruments had stopped. She looked back to find everyone looking awestruck.

"Yes?" she asked looking confused.

"That singing was you?" Russel asked in shock.

"Um… yeah… didn't you guys listen to my audition?" Charley said looking at everyone.

"We listened to you playing guitar, not singing," 2D said as he blinked. The young woman raised a brow.

"Uh… tuning up doesn't take that short amount of time. Go back to what you were doing," she said before going back to warming up. She then looked over the lyrics again and noticed something.

"You didn't write this song! This is Ave Maria!" she said looking at Murdoc.

"Yeah, but it's to a different tune. It's more rock/pop like. I re-wrote the sheet music," the bassist said with a smile.

"This song is in Arabic," the red-head said flatly.

"ARABIC! I can hardly speak in English, let alone Arabic!" 2D whined before being smacked upside the head.

"Just try your best, D," Russel said before setting the beat.

_Ave Maria, gratia plena_

_Maria, gratia plena_

_Maria, gratia plena_

_Ave, ave dominus_

_Tecum._

_Denedicta tu in mulieribus_

_Et benedictus_

_Benedictus fructus ventris tui_

_Ventris tui, Jesus._

_Ave Maria_

_Sancta Maria_

_Ora pro nobis,_

_Nobis peccatoribus_

_Nunc et in hora_

_Mortis rostrae_

_Ave Maria_

"Murdoc… you are aware that this is a Christian song, right?" Russel said after the first go. There was a pause before Murdoc smacked himself.

"Just when I found something cool, it turns out to be religious," he groaned.

"What does it matter? It's not a song anyone owns," 2D said before once again being smacked by the bassist.

"We could get the song 'Swan Lake', add lyrics and rock the tune," Charley suggested with a shrug. Everyone looked at her.

"Have you ever thought about writing songs, luv?" Murdoc asked with a smirk.

"I can write poetry, but not songs," the red-head stated.


	6. Dishes and Groceries

Chapter 6: Dishes and Groceries

After everyone cleaned up their instruments, they all retired to their rooms, leaving Charley to do chores. She started washing dishes, going into a very deep thought. More like a train of thoughts about nothing in particular.

"_I should probably go get food after this. I also should… wait… I assigned that to Noodle… I'll have them start on their chores tomorrow,"_ she thought as she scrubbed one of the plates. She was so deep into thought that she was unaware of the fact that someone had entered the kitchen.

"Oi, Charley, we're out of beer," Murdoc said as he looked in the fridge. Charley yelped and dropped the plate she was working on, causing it to fall and break. The bassist looked at her in question.

"You scared me," she said holding her chest. "I'm gonna go get groceries after I clean up this mess and finish the dishes."

"Okay… aren't we supposed to start them chores or somethin'?" the older man inquired as he closed the fridge.

"I was going to have you guys start them tomorrow. We worked pretty hard on practice today," Charley said as she started on another dish.

"Speaking of practice, you did pretty damn well. Even though I screwed up on the song, it sounded pretty cool," the bassist complemented as he looked at one of the wet dishes that had been set aside. "Aren't these supposed to be dried?"

"I normally dry them last. This is normally a two or three person job; one person washes, another person dries, and sometimes the last person puts them away. But normally the drier puts them away," the young woman said as she scratched at something that was stuck to the dish.

"I'll dry 'em up for ya'. That way you can get to the store quicker," Murdoc said as he picked up a rag.

"Murdoc Niccals is actually doing something without being asked? Who are you and what have you done to our bassist?" Charley said in false awe.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I have nothing better to do," the bassist said as he began drying one of the plates.

"You could start writing the lyrics for that 'Swan Lake' song," the red-head claimed as she set another plate aside and began on the next one.

"I dun feel like it. I need some inspiration," the older man said as he finished the plate and went onto the next one. The two went on doing the dishes and talking until everything was washed, dried and put away.

"Well, that went much faster than it normally does. But now I need to head off to the store to get that food," Charley said as she took off her apron and started to put on her coat and scarf.

"How 'bout I go with ya? It beats sitting here and doing nothing," Murdoc said as he grabbed his own coat. The young woman didn't argue as she put on some boots and headed out the front door.

"We're walking?" the man said as they walked out into the fall air.

"The store is only a few blocks away. We don't need to take a car if we can just walk there," Charley said as she slung her purse over her shoulder and started down the hill. Murdoc quickly fell into step with her as they headed down to the store.

"So how often do you go do this?" the bassist said when they got to the foot of the hill.

"Every week. Sometimes every other day, it really depends on how quickly you guys go through food," the red-head explained.

"You sure do keep yourself busy," the man said as they headed down the side walk.

"Well, you don't give me very much work when it comes to singing or playing guitar. I need to give you a reason to keep me here, so I do this," Charley said, shoving her hands into her coat pockets.

"You dun have to worry about me booting you out any time soon. It'd be rather pointless," Murdoc said as he took out a cigarette and lit it. The red head let out a sigh of relief as they turned the corner. It didn't take long for them to reach the grocery store.

"_This_ is where you get all our stuff?" the bassist inquired as he looked around the store, not impressed by the humble appearance.

"It's got everything we need for a good price," the young woman said as she got out a shopping cart. They walked around and grabbed everything that seemed of use for meals and what not. Occasionally, Murdoc would grab something that wasn't really needed, but would probably be something that everyone would snack on. But they didn't stay in the grocery store for very long.

"How the hell do you carry all this crap by yourself?" the bassist said as he struggled to carry the bags that he had taken. Charley paused for a moment to think.

"I dunno actually… I just managed to do it. But it is nice to have some help," she said as they headed up the hill.

"You must get a nice work out doin' all this crap," the man said as they trudged up the steep hill.

"Yup, it keeps me in shape," the red-head responded before getting to the door and pulling out the keys.

"Don't you have a car?! With all this crap, you should have a car to go there and back," Murdoc whined as they got in and headed over to the kitchen.

"I have a car, but I prefer to walk. It's good for me," Charley said as she set her bags on the table. The bassist followed suit before plopping into one of the chairs.

"You, my dear, need a raise," he said pointing at the young woman.

"You're the one paying me, Muds. I have almost no control over how much I get paid," the red head said as she started to put things away.

"I should give you a raise," Murdoc said as he rested his head against the table. Charley looked over at him with some concern.

"Are you feeling alright? You haven't been eating very much and you seem to be very tired," she said walking over to him.

"I just walked half a mile with about 30 pounds of groceries, of course I'm tired," the bassist said before giving his fellow band mate the bird.

"You didn't have to go with me. And I'm just worried about you," Charley said before going back to the task at hand.

"Luv, I can take care of m'self. I don't need you worryin' about me," the man said looking at the back of the red-head. The young woman handed the bassist a glass of beer with ice before continuing her work.

"And since when where you a maid?!" Murdoc asked before drinking some of the liquid in the glass given to him.

"Since you guys can hardly clean up after yourselves. Someone has to take care of you guys," Charley said as she finished up her task. The bassist took her by the wrist and sat her in his lap.

"You don't have to work this hard, Charley. You're not our slave," the man said looking the red-head in the eye.

"I know I don't have to work this hard, Murdoc, but if I don't do this, I feel like I'm… well… useless," the young woman said with a sigh.

"You ain't useless and you ain't a slave. Starting t'morrow, I'm giving you a raise and we all are gonna start our chores. You need to relax and take a break," the bassist said as he pinched the tip of Charley's nose; not where she couldn't breath, but where he could have a grip on her. The young woman smiled and kissed the tip of Murdoc's nose.

"When you wanna be, you can be very thoughtful and generous, Muds," she said before getting off of the bassist's lap and heading over to the living room, she needed a nap. Before she got there, she remembered she had her own room. She shrugged and headed up to her room, a nap was a nap no matter where you nap. What was with Murdoc? Why was he being so… kind?


	7. Ballroom Arguement

Chapter 7: Ballroom Argument

Charley relaxed in the kitchen with a magazine in the tranquility of silence. Everyone was doing their chores, allowing her to look for things to take up her time. She had started making a list of things that piqued her interest. Most of the activities were things that would hardly interest any of the other Gorillaz, but definitely were up her ally. She circled one of them and smiled.

"What'cha doin', Charley?" 2D asked as he entered the kitchen.

"I am thinking about doing ballroom dancing in my new spare time," the young woman said as she held up a full page advertisement for ballroom dancing.

"Sounds boring," the singer stated bluntly.

"What sounds boring?" Russel inquired, over hearing their conversation.

"Charley wants to do ballroom dancing," 2D said as he showed the drummer the magazine page.

"I think she'd be good at it. She's got the grace, and it teaches respect, rhythm, helps with your fitness; sounds like it's right up her ally," the New Yorker said as he looked at the page. "Maybe you should get Murdoc to do it too, he could learn some respect for women."

"I don't think he'd be into it, he's not the type to learn that sort of thing," Charley said as she took back the magazine.

"Well, why not ask him? You never know what he'd do," Russel said with a shrug.

"Why don't you join it, Russ?" the young woman suggested.

"I got two left feet," the black man responded. The red head sighed at got up before heading down to the car park. No surprise, the Winnebago was rocking.

"MURDOC! I wanna talk to you!" Charley called into the car. It continued to rock for about 10 more minuets before stopping. After about five minuets, the bassist came out looking slightly out of breath.

"Yes?" he said crossing his arms.

"I'm pretty sure that this won't pique your interest, but I'm gonna ask anyway. I'm thinking about joining a ballroom dancing class and I was wondering if you wanted to join me," the red head said as she held up the magazine. The man looked at it before rolling his eyes.

"Ballroom dancing is for old people," he said as he leaned against the door frame.

"Says the 42-year old," Charley shot back.

"I'm not going to waste my time learning how to look stupid in front of people. I already know how to do that," Murdoc retorted with a glare.

"It's not just the waltz, you'd learn the quick step, the tango, the fox trot. You're into sexy things, the tango is considered to be a very sexy dance," the young woman said crossing her arms.

"Sexy is grinding up against a girls crotch and practically having sex with her on the dance floor, the tango is not sexy," the bassist growled.

"That form of sexy is disgusting and totally disrespectful, it's like saying that she is a slut," the red-head snapped.

"Most girls now a-day are sluts, Charley! Look around you! The age of respect is long gone!" Murdoc shouted at her.

"The only reason that has happened is because of the horrible old drunken disgusting men like you who think that woman are only a way to relieve sexual tension. I was starting to think that you were better than that! I guess I was wrong," Charley said bitterly.

"You sure as hell were. I'm just as bad, if not worse, than any man you'll find out there on the streets!" the bassist shouted. The red head didn't respond, but instead slapped the man. She then turned on a heel and marched out of the car park. Murdoc stepped back into the Winnebago and slammed the door shut.

Charley practically ran up to her room and threw herself onto her bed before beginning to sob into her pillow. The bassist had totally been out of line; the young woman was just merely trying to get him to do something with her. She quickly ripped of the choker around her neck and threw it somewhere in the room before going back into her pillow. There was a gentle knock at the door.

"Go away!" the red-head shouted from the pillow.

"It's me, Noodle. I want to know what is wrong," a soft voice came from behind the door. Charley didn't respond, but the door was opened.

"What happened to make you cry?" Noodle asked as she sat next to the older woman on the bed.

"Murdoc yelled at me and told me that my idea was stupid," the red-head explained between sobs.

"Murdoc says a lot of things are stupid. But you must understand, he is very stubborn and likes things his way," the Asian teen said in a comforting tone.

"He doesn't think that women deserve respect and that they're all sluts," Charley sobbed into her pillow.

"He can say that all he wants, but you're not a slut. I'm not a slut. And no matter how many times he says it, that doesn't mean he's right," Noodle said in an annoyed tone.

The two sat together while Charley sobbed for a good hour, not much changed in that hour. After a while, Noodle got up and left the room to give her friend some time alone. Eventually, the red-head stopped crying. She then started busying herself by reading the book Russel had given her. Not long after, there was another knock at the door. The young woman didn't respond, but the door opened anyway.

"Noodle told me what happened," Russel's voice came as he sat next to Charley. "Want me to beat him up for you?"

"It doesn't matter, his opinion will never change no matter how much we try to make it change. But it gives me a reason to quit," the young woman said with a sigh.

"You can't quit now! We need you, Charley!" the drummer said desperately.

"Why? I'm just back up! I never do anything other than clean up after you guys and help you tune! I have absolutely no role in this band!" Charley snapped.

"Girl, we need you for more than that. We were a wreck before you came and we needed help. You're like the glue that keeps us all together. You are an awesome singer, and now that Murdoc has heard you sing, he's probably going to put you in more stuff. So hell to what Murdoc said to you, you are an amazing person and you didn't deserve what he said to you," Russel said as he rubbed the red-head's back comfortingly.

After that, Charley stayed in her room. Every so often, one of the band members (except Murdoc) came in to check on her. But she didn't come out until everyone started complaining that they were hungry. She trudged down to the kitchen and began making grilled cheese sandwiches. She was in no mood to do anything fancy tonight, she just wanted everyone to leave her alone.

"Oi, Charley, what's for dinner?" Murdoc's voice came from the entrance of the kitchen. The red-head didn't respond as she continued making the food.

"What? Cat got your tongue?" the bassist said looking at his fellow band mate. Again, no response.

"What is with you?!" the man snapped.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I don't talk to stingy old men who have no respect for women," Charley finally said flatly.

"You're still on about that?! What do you expect me to do?" Murdoc groaned.

"How about apologize. By saying that all girls are sluts, you are saying that Noodle and I are sluts. And you have no respect for either of us. Don't expect me to show you any kind of respect from me when you treat me like that," the young woman snapped.

"Look, I didn't mean you-" the bassist started.

"Oh, so I'm not a woman now?" the red-head snapped.

"No! I didn't say that!" Murdoc said in an annoyed tone. Charley didn't respond as she set the table.

"Charley… don't do that," the bassist said sounding sorrowful. He obviously wasn't used to the cold shoulder.

"Call everyone to dinner," was all that the young woman said quietly as she took her own plate and left the room. Murdoc sat at the table, totally dumb founded. This was something he was not used to. He was very thoughtful as he sat there as he looked at his dinner; it was definitely burnt on purpose.

"Damn… I screwed up…" he mumbled as he rested his head in his hands.


	8. Kiss and Make Up

Disclaimer: I don't own the Gorillaz, Jamie Hewlett does. But I do own Charley

Rating: M- for later… intimate scenes

Author's Note: Hi Everybody!! Sorry I've been kind of lame about keeping up with this Fan-Fic. But I'm back in action. I hope you guys have been enjoying reading this! I've been very happy with it myself. There are only a few mistakes that I've seen here and there. But, whatever. THANK YOU FOR READING!!!!

Chapter 8: Kiss and Make Up

The next day, Charley didn't speak to anyone. And everyone knew it was Murdoc's fault.

"Man, why'd you have to go and yell at her? She was only trying to do something with you," Russel said over breakfast, which was just what the band could put together by themselves seeing as the young woman was in no hurry to start helping anyone out.

"How the hell was I supposed to know she was going to get all depressed and not talk to anyone?!" Murdoc defended himself.

"If you paid attention, you would have noticed that she suffers from depression! It's a mental thing for her!" the drummer scolded.

"And what's wiff you tellin' her she's a slut?" 2D said as he munched on his cereal.

"I didn't call her a slut! I said that the majority of women now a day are sluts!" the bassist snapped.

"I heard you say fat _all_ woman are sluts. I'm not deft, Muds," the singer said pointing his spoon at the older man.

"I didn't mean that _she_ was a slut! I meant that everyone except her and Noodle were sluts!" Murdoc groaned in defense.

"Well you should have said that in the first place. In fact, you shouldn't have said anything about women being sluts!" Russel snapped.

"She started it!" the bassist groaned again.

"Regardless! We're lucky that she decided not to quit! We'd be royally screwed if she did," the drummer retorted.

"What do you want me to do, huh?!" the older man snapped with a glare.

"Apologize; prove to her you're really sorry. You owe her big time," Russel said before taking a bite of his cereal.

"She was really hurt by what you did, Murdoc. She wants to be friends with you," Noodle said as she finished her eggs.

"How the hell do I apologize if she keeps avoiding me?!" the bassist demanded.

"Give her gifts, try to talk to her, do her chores, I dunno!" the drummer said as he finished his food.

After breakfast, Murdoc headed over to Charley's room, hoping she wasn't in. He knocked on the door; no response. He opened it to find it empty. He quietly entered and looked around.

"Okay, what does Charley like?" he asked quietly. He continued to look for a clue before noticing the young woman's computer, which happened to be on. He sat down at the desk and started looking through the files. There were lots of pictures of Anime stuff, Gorillaz stuff (no surprise there), and random pictures. The pictures were actually rather helpful for the bassist. Many of them consisted of a specific type of flower, calico cats and dresses.

Quickly making a list of these things (and finding out the flower was a plumeria), Murdoc exited the room and looked over his list.

"Okay, let's see if these things will help patch things up," he said as he headed down to the car park, grabbing his coat on the way down. After grabbing some cash and putting it into his wallet, he got into one of the many cars that were there and turned it on. He quietly and quickly exited and headed off to town.

After about two hours, the bassist returned with a box and several bags. He headed up to Charley's room as quickly as he could (without dropping the bags or box.) He knocked on the door, now hoping that the young woman was in. Luckily, the red-head answered.

"What?" she said with an annoyed tone.

"I wanna patch things up with you," Murdoc said as he adjusted the bag. Charley stepped aside to let the bassist into her room.

"How exactly to you plan on doing that?" she asked as she sat on the bed.

"First, I wanna explain something. I say a lot of bullshit, and I'm used to offending people without having a bad result. So I was stupid when I said that all girl's were sluts, 'cause there are a lot of women out there who are really smart and who know they are better than what most people think they are. And I want you to know that saying all that is really hard for me because I don't do apologies," the bassist said as he sat on a chair. Charley nodded blankly.

"Secondly, I kind of heard that when guys screw up with girls, they give them gifts. So I got you some things," the man said as he grabbed one of the bags and handing it to the young woman.

When she opened it, she discovered that it was a potted plumeria bush with a yellow ribbon. She smiled and got up, and then set it on her desk next to her computer and lamp. She returned back to the bed and waited. Murdoc then handed her the other bags without saying anything. Inside where amazing looking dresses; ballroom gowns, evening dresses, day time dresses, baby doll dresses and a clubbing dress.

"These are beautiful, Murdoc," Charley said as she held up a sparkling greed gown. She then took the bags and hung up the dresses in her wardrobe before going back to the bed.

"Finally, I figured you needed a companion to comfort you when I do something stupid," the bassist said holding up the box. The young woman opened it before squealing in joy.

"A CALICO KITTEN! Oh, it's wonderful, Murdoc!" she said as she picked up the small animal and cuddled it.

"I also got it a collar, but I couldn't carry a litter box or a bed for it," the man said as he picked up a cream colored collar with a bell. "I didn't know what to name it, so I left that up to you." The red head took the collar and put it around the kitten's neck. She then held it up and looked at it.

"Well, it's a girl, so I'm gonna name it Reeces," she said before snuggling the kitten. The small animal purred happily before Charley put it on her lap.

"So… does this mean you forgive me?" Murdoc asked as he leaned against the back of the chair. The young woman thought for a moment before nodding.

"I'll forgive you this time. But you won't be so lucky next time," she said as she pointed at the bassist. He nodded with a sigh. He was caught of guard when Charley kissed him on the cheek and giggled.

"We have now kissed and made up. But I still wish you would join ballroom dancing with me…" she said as the kitten went over to the pillows at the head of the bed and curled up on one.


	9. Sex Talk

Disclaimer: I don't own the Gorillaz, Jamie Hewlett does. But I do own Charley

Rating: M- for later… intimate scenes

Author's Note: I just finished this chapter today and I finished the next chapter. So…

Chapter 9: Sex Talk

Everything seemed peaceful now that Murdoc and Charley had made up, but the other band members were still miffed at their bassist.

"So, how's that song coming along?" the young woman asked as she looked over the bassist's shoulder.

"This is impossible! It's like the song was made so that no one can write lyrics to it!" the man groaned. The red head thought for a moment before humming the tune.

"Well, what do you want it to be about?" she asked.

"I dunno, something that would be cool but symbolic," the man said thoughtfully.

_Sing_

_Sing into the sky above_

_To those who long for life and love_

"That's all I got," Charley said dully.

"That's pretty good, but I dunno if that's the theme I want," Murdoc responded.

"Well, what would you do?" Charley asked before leaning against the desk the bassist was sitting at.

"Currently? I would hire a prostitute so I can have frustrating and angry sex with her. But I don't think that's what you're asking about," the man said scratching his head.

"That was WAY too much information. Eventually you're gonna get an STD," Charley said as she sat on the desk.

"I'm pretty sure I already do. I'd be shocked if I didn't," Murdoc responded with a laugh. "D'you wanna have sex with me?"

"NO! Not when you most likely have an STD!" the red-head snapped, shocked that he would even suggest that.

"What if I didn't have an STD?" the man responded, smirking up at the young woman.

"I'd be shocked," Charley said rolling her eyes.

"That's not what I mean, luv. Would you have sex with me if I didn't have an STD?" the bassist asked, admiring the young woman's shorts.

"Maybe. Depends on the situation," she said brushing a run-away hair out of her face. Murdoc thought to himself as he put a hand on the red-head's thy.

"Maybe I'll get a test, see if I really have one," he said as he rubbed Charley's thy. It may have been a perverted act, but for some reason it was comfortable to the young woman.

"I'll go with you for it. I can keep you company," she said as she took Murdoc's hand into hers and rubbed his knuckles against her cheek.

About 20 minuets later, the two were sitting in a doctor's office waiting for the doctor so the bassist could take the test.

"I hate the doctor," Murdoc said for the ump-teenth time.

"If we didn't have to go here, we wouldn't be here," Charley said as she looked at an old magazine.

"What do you think will happen if I do have one?" the man asked, sounding slightly worried.

"We'll keep living life to the fullest until something happens. But if there is anything that we need to do to make sure nothing bad happens, we need to do it," she said comfortingly. Before Murdoc could respond, the doctor came out. "Niccals, Murdoc?" The two stood up and walked over.

"You're wife?" the doctor inquired, looking over at Charley, who blushed.

"Naw, she's just my mate. Is she allowed with me?" the bassist responded. The doctor nodded and let the two through.

About 15 minuets (and several embarrassing tests and questions) later, the two were back out in the waiting room, doing just what the room was made for.

"Are you nervous, Murdoc?" Charley asked as she played with the hem of her shirt. When she got no response, she looked up to find the bassist biting his thumbnail.

"Murdoc, it's okay," she said while rubbing his back soothingly. Just then the doctor came out. The two approached him.

"Good news, oddly enough you do not have any STD's. But you may want to take some precautions to keep it that way," the doctor said before going back into the other room. Murdoc sighed in relief and the two headed back to the car.

"See? Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" the young woman asked as she got into the passenger seat.

"You didn't have to do all those damn tests," Murdoc said as he started the car. Charley shrugged before they got onto the road. The whole trip was silent until they got into the car park.

"Charley. What I said earlier today… don't think that it was just said out of lust," the bassist said before going into his "home". The young woman smiled and headed up stairs. As she went into the kitchen to get a snack (and check how much food they had) she began to think. Her thoughts soon came back to 2D's question that he had asked what felt like years ago.

"Maybe I do have a thing for him…" she said aloud. She took out a bottle of beer and a granola bar and went back down to the car park. She was relieved to find that the winne was not rocking. She approached and then knocked. Not long after, Murdoc answered.

"Yes?" he asked, looking rather confused.

"May I come in?" she asked, holding up the bottle. The bassist stood to the side, allowing the red-head to enter.

"Something up?" he asked as he took the bottle and walked towards the front of his "home".

"I want to talk to you about something," Charley said as she unwrapped the granola bar.

"I'm all ears, luv," was the only response she got as the man un-capped the bottle using the table.

"About what you said earlier, if you didn't just say it out of lust- what else was there?" she asked as she sat at the table. Murdoc looked at her in thought.

"Beats me. All I know is that there was more than just lust there," he said before taking a swig.

"You wouldn't just screw a friend for the hell of it, would you?" she asked sternly.

"Depends on the friend, babe. If it's a pretty female friend like you, my dear, I would probably take them for a spin. If it were someone like 2D or Russ, chances are very slim," he said with his trademark grin.

"So you're saying, that if you and I were 'in the mood', you would have no regrets having sex with me," the red head asked.

"None what so ever," the bassist responded leaning in. "Are you implying something?"

"I'm just curious. And I'm trying to figure out if having emotional attachment occurs when you take people for a spin," Charley asked.

"Emotional attachment? Luv, if there is any emotional attachment, it's the emotion of wanting more. I'm a very greedy bloke, if I want something- I get it. If I wanted to take you right now, there isn't anything you could do to stop me," he said, still sporting his grin.

"Yeah, but Russel would kick your ass into 2015," Charley said while leaning back.

"I think you'd be worth it," the bassist responded before taking another drink of his bottle.

"You know I'm a virgin, right?" the red-head asked.

"It doesn't matter," the man stated.

"Alright. If in the next 10 minuets you can get me in the mood, I'll let you take my virginity. I will have no regrets and I won't say anything to the others," Charley said with a smirk. Murdoc looked semi-surprised.

"Wait, wait, wait. You're telling me that if I can get you horny in the next 10 minuets, I can have my way with you and I won't get in trouble?" he asked, seeming to be pleased.

"You won't get in trouble by my doing," she responded. The bassist smiled and approached the woman.

"Prepare yourself."


	10. Something a Little Different

The Gorillaz

Fan Fiction

Disclaimer: I don't own the Gorillaz, Jamie Hewlett does. But I do own Charley

Rating: M- for scenes like THIS ONE!!!!

Author's Note: WHOOO!! This is the first chapter with sex in it. It's more of flash backs of what happened… Anyway! I hope you enjoy it. I'm proud of this chapter.

Chapter 10: Something a Little Different

Charley stood out on the balcony, staring out onto the landscape below her, in Murdoc's clothes, remembering the events that had occurred not more than a few hours ago…

"_Prepare yourself," and with that said Murdoc approached Charley and kissed her. She didn't resist, but was slightly displeased by the taste of beer in the bassist's mouth. She felt a hand rest on her hip and another run though her hair. The man's tongue slipped into her mouth and caressed her tongue. As this happened, the hand on her hip began to migrate upwards and under her shirt. She couldn't help but moan and wrap her arms around his shoulders._

_Their tongues fought for dominance, but in the end, Murdoc was champion. Charley could feel his hand massage her breast though her bra and his other moving away from her hair and down towards her skirt. It was only when air seemed necessary that they separated._

"_You win," she gasped out, feeling her lips becoming bruised. The bassist grinned at her._

"Charley! We're hungry!" 2D called from the kitchen. The red-head sighed and went back inside.

"I'll start on dinner. Is there anything in particular you guys want?" she asked as she walked in.

"Spaghetti!" Noodle and 2D cheered. Russel seemed to look concerned as the other two went off to go clean up for food.

"Are those Murdoc's clothes?" he asked, pointing at Charley's attire.

"My clothes are dirty. He's the closest to my size," she lied with a smile. The drummer didn't seem to be convinced, but didn't say anything as he walked out. The red-head smiled as she got out a pot and filled it with water. Once she set it to boil, she allowed her mind to go back to her memories…

_Murdoc guided the girl over to his bed and began to undress, Charley following suit. The bassist stopped her when she got to her underwear._

"_When you get those?" he asked, looking her over. She looked at her own appearance. Her underwear and bra were purple plaid with frills and buttons._

"_I got them for Christmas from my mom. She insisted that I have some nice matching underwear," she said as she looked back up at Murdoc. He smiled and leaned down to kiss and bite her neck._

"_I'll need to thank her later. Those are definitely a turn-on," he whispered in her ear as he unlatched the back of her bra._

"Charley, the water is boiling," Noodle said, tapping the older woman on the shoulder. Charley got up and put the noodles in.

"Hey, I just noticed we don't have any bread to go with our spaghetti. Would you and 2D mind going to the store and getting us some French bread?" she asked as she looked at the younger girl. The teen nodded and walked off to go get the singer…

_Murdoc left a trail of kisses down Charley's dark flesh, down between her soft breasts. He took one of her piques into his mouth and began to suck and bite._

"_Ah! Not too hard!" the red head gasped out._

"_Sorry, luv," was all she got before the bassist went back to the task at hand, but with a little more care. He allowed his other hand to tease the neglected breast, drawing soft moans from the woman above him. He soon switched sides, giving the same treatment to the other breast._

"_You have very practiced hands," Charley said breathlessly._

"_The better to please you with, my dear," Murdoc said before coming back up to kiss the blushing woman below him._

Charley began to work on the sauce for the spaghetti, adding red wine and garlic salt. She hadn't used this recipe here at Kong yet, so she hoped everyone would like it. She then let it simmer before going back to her memory…

_Charley bit her lip in attempt to keep herself quiet as Murdoc teased her through her panties._

"_No need to hold back, luv. If anyone walks past, they'll think I'm with one of my other girls," the bassist said huskily to the woman. He quickly moved his hand into her panties and rubbed his fingers on her slit, causing her to cry out. She couldn't hold back her moans as he slipped a finger inside of her._

"_Ah! Murdoc!" she gasped out as she held onto his arm._

"_I've always enjoyed the way you say my name. But soon you'll be screaming it when I take you," he said as he thrust his finger in and out of Charley's sex._

"_Y-you're horrible," she said before moaning. The bassist grinned and kissed his band-mate._

"_You wouldn't have me any other way," he said as he took his hand out of her panties and licked her essence off of his fingers._

Charley took out lettuce and other things to make a salad and placed them in a bowl. As she made the salad, she could smell that the alcohol from the wine was being cooked out of the sauce. Once she finished the salad, she stirred the red substance to make sure that it didn't burn…

"_This'll probably be uncomfortable," Murdoc warned as he positioned himself at Charley's entrance._

"_There's no going back now," she said, looking the bassist in the eye. He took her hand and with one thrust, he was inside of her. She cried out from both the pain of being stretched and surprise._

"_You alright?" the man asked. Charley kept her eyes shut, trying to adjust. After a few seconds, she nodded._

"_Move," was all she said. And so he did. At first the pace was slow, but then gradually it began to speed up. And to her amazement, Charley actually enjoyed it and meeting him thrust for thrust._

"_Harder!" she begged, tightening her grip on Murdoc's hand. He didn't need to be told twice. Soon their bodies were slick with sweat and their rhythm became erratic and uncontrolled._

"_M-Murdoc…! I think…!" Charley couldn't finish her thoughts as she felt her body reaching an unfathomable height of pleasure._

"_Yeah…! Me too…!" Murdoc panted out. Soon they were both gasping out each other's names as they reached their climax at the same time._

"We're back! And we brought the bread!" 2D called into the kitchen. By this time, Charley was straining the noodles.

"Great! I just need to cook it for a few minuets and then dinner will be ready!" she said with a smile as she took the bread from the singer and put it in the oven. She then mixed the sauce with the noodles…

_Charley rested her head on Murdoc's chest, listening to the rhythm of his heart beat gradually become more regular._

"_That was amazing," she said after she caught her breath._

"_I have to admit, this was probably the best sex I've had in a while," Murdoc said as he grabbed a cancer stick and lit it._

"_Why is it that people normally smoke after sex?" the red head asked as she looked up at the bassist. He looked thoughtful for a moment._

"_You know… I have absolutely no idea… I mean, I'm addicted so I really just smoke all the time, but I dunno about other people," he said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders._

"_You know, this will never happen again, right?" Charley said as she snuggled her boss. He chuckled._

"_Keep telling yourself that."_

"Oi! What's for dinner?" Murdoc's voice came from outside the kitchen door. He walked in and smiled at Charley.

"It's spaghetti with my special sauce. I also have salad and bread to go with it," she said as the bassist came behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I think I'll have the sexy tan chef to go," he said so only the red head could hear.

"You wish. You're going to have spaghetti like everyone else," Charley said as Murdoc kissed her neck.

"Now I _know_ you're not trying to get it on with Charley!" Russel's booming voice came from the kitchen's door way. Murdoc jumped back and ran over to the table, not really wanting to deal with the drummer. Charley couldn't help but laugh. Russel was a bit late for that, but he didn't need to know. Life was probably going to be a little different from now on.


	11. Not Good Enough

The Gorillaz

Fan Fiction

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Gorillaz, Jamie Hewlett does. But I do own Charley

**Rating:** M- for Chapter 10

Chapter 11: Not Good Enough

Life went on after Murdoc and Charley's… fun… It almost was like it had never happened. The only thing that seemed to change was that when they were alone, the two would share interment moments- most of which consisted of making-out in an abandoned hallway. It was as if there were two different worlds; one that was what everyone else lived in, and another in which Charley and Murdoc were the only two people. But even with this, the two didn't reenact their actions of that afternoon.

"What happens when two band members get into a relationship?" Charley asked Russel one day as they were doing their laundry.

"Well, one of two things happen. On rare occasions, the relationship has no influence on the band and pretty much doesn't become public beyond the band. But what usually happens is that the two band members would prefer to be with each other than with the band. And that usually causes the band to break up," the New Yorker explained as he folded his laundry.

"So are we bound to just be performers? Never to have a life outside of music?" the red-head asked. Russel looked at her with some concern.

"I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that most of the time, relationships in the band mess things up. I mean, when 2D was going out with Carla, that kind of messed up the band," he said as he put his stack of clothes into his basket.

"That was mainly Murdoc's fault, wasn't it?" Charley asked, remembering what she had heard.

"Well… it was both Carla and Murdoc's fault. I mean, 2D was heart broken and Carla was just flat out crazy," the man said. The woman sighed and moved her laundry into the drier.

It was about a week after this conversation that the topic was brought up again, but this time, 2D took Russel's place.

"If Carla had stayed wiff me, I don't fink we would mess up the band," 2D said as he messed around on his key-board.

"So you're saying it's all Murdoc's fault?" Charley asked as she played digital ping-pong on 2D's TV's.

"Well, it is his fault," the blue haired man said bluntly. The conversation was then dropped, not to be picked up again for quite a while. The young woman was pretty sure that Murdoc was just taking all of his sexual frustration out on her, but she just wanted to see what everyone thought about relationships in the band just in case.

Later that week, Charley found herself sitting in one of the cars in the car park, watching Murdoc's Winnebago rock. As she watched it, she was sort of confused.

"I highly doubt that it rocked this much when I was in there," she said, mostly to herself. She took a sip of the bottle of water she had in her hand as she continued to watch the scene in front of her. After about a half-n-hour, she dozed off in the back seats of the car, letting her feet hang out of the window. When she awoke, it was because someone was flicking the bottom of her foot. She looked up to find a busty red-headed woman doing it.

"Yes?" Charley inquired through a yawn.

"Murdoc wants you to find a better place to sleep than a car, like a couch or a bed. More or less he wants you to sleep in the Winnebago," the woman said, her eastern accent sounding strange to Charley's ears.

"I thought Murdoc only hires blonds and brunettes," she said as she got out of the car and stretched.

"Well, after he took you for a spin, he realized that red-heads are more interesting than those other girls," the other woman said as she flung her purse over her shoulder. "He's waiting for you, so you better get going." Charley looked over, sure enough- Murdoc stood in the door way of the Winnebago looking as though he was waiting for her. She nodded towards the woman and walked over to the bassist.

"You have a problem with me sleeping in cars?" she asked when she was a few feet away from him.

"Not really. I just wanted some company that I didn't need to pay for," Murdoc said before taking Charley's hand. He took her into the Winnebago and sat her down on what could only be described as a booth of some kind.

"Well, I'm tired so I don't know how good of company I would be," she said as the man grabbed a bottle of beer from a cooler and opening it.

"You can sleep, I just want you in here rather than out there," he responded before taking a drink. Charley only yawned before lying down on the booth and closing her eyes. Almost as soon as her head hit the cushion, she was asleep. Murdoc gave a weak grin before ruffling her hair. He sat down next to her and continued to sip on his drink.

About two hours later, Charley woke up to the sight of Murdoc making out with a busty red-headed girl as they headed towards the bed- much like he did when she was in his arms. She sighed and quietly got up and snuck out of the winne, not wanting to interrupt anything because she was there. She shut the door as quietly as one could with a creaky door and then ran up to her room. Once she got there, she flopped onto her bed and screamed into her pillow. Why did she feel cheated on? She and Murdoc were a one time thing, something that would never go beyond just sex. And Charley knew that. She also had seen him with several women after their intercourse. So why did she feel like ripping out her heart and throwing it against the wall?

"_Maybe it's because I never saw him actually doing any of it?"_ she thought sorrowfully. She let herself scream into the pillow for a good 20 minuets before breaking down into tears. She had no idea how long she had cried, but when she looked up, it was dusk. She sniffled and went out on the balcony of her room. She leaned against the railing and watched the sun set. She let herself imagine all of those beautiful pinks and oranges and reds being painted by some unknown force that was beyond her reach. She let all of those colors and the feel of the breeze temporarily chase away the ache that was in her heart. She let the cool air caress her tear stained cheeks before realizing that she hadn't made lunch or dinner. The band must be starving.

With a deep sigh, she left her comforting place and went down to the kitchen and started to make mac-n-cheese with hamburger. She had told someone (she currently couldn't remember who) that it was the food of self-pity. And she was feeling pretty pitiful right now.

"Charley…! I'm hungry!" 2D whined as he entered the kitchen.

"I'm making food right now, 2D. It'll be done in about 15 minuets," Charley said, trying to steady her voice. The singer groaned as he left the kitchen to wander about. The red-head watched the water, no memories coming to her brain. She knew the saying "a watched pot never boils", but she felt like watching something that she never really watched. But she needed something to listen to. What better than her own voice?

_I always needed time on my own_

_I never thought I'd need you there when I cry_

_And the days feel like years when I'm alone_

_And the bed where you lie is made up on your side_

_When you walk away I count the steps that you take_

_Do you see how much I need you right now_

_When you're gone_

_The pieces of my heart are missing you_

_When you're gone_

_The face I came to know is missing too_

_When you're gone_

_The words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it ok_

_I miss you_

Charley quietly put the noodles into the now boiling water and started to cook the frozen hamburger.

_I've never felt this way before_

_Everything that I do reminds me of you_

_And the clothes you left, they lie on the floor_

_And they smell just like you, I love the things that you do_

_When you walk away I count the steps that you take_

_Do you see how much I need you right now_

_When you're gone_

_The pieces of my heart are missing you_

_When you're gone_

_The face I came to know is missing too_

_When you're gone_

_The words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it ok_

_I miss you_

The hamburger was now defrosted and turning from pink to brown. The macaroni was ready to get out of the water.

_We were made for each other_

_Out here forever_

_I know we were, yeah_

_All I ever wanted was for you to know_

_Everything I'd do, I'd give my heart and soul_

_I can hardly breathe I need to feel you here with me, yeah_

_When you're gone_

_The pieces of my heart are missing you_

_When you're gone_

_The face I came to know is missing too_

_When you're gone_

_The words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it ok_

_I miss you…_

Charley placed all of the bowls of food onto the table along with silverware and drinks.

"You didn't write that, did you?" a familiar and slightly unwelcome voice asked. The red-head looked up to find Murdoc in the door way.

"No. Avril Lavigne did. It's a song that speaks to my heart," she responded, looking back down at the food. "Can you call everyone to the table? Dinner is ready." The bassist stood there for a little while, not actually looking like he was going to move. But after a little bit, he pushed himself away from the door and called everyone.

Once everyone sat at the table, it was far to quiet for comfort. Russel looked at his bowl in thought.

"Charley… is something wrong?" he asked, looking up at the young woman.

"What makes you think something is wrong?" she said as she picked at her food.

"Well, for one thing you're not eating. And you only make this when you a feeling sorry for yourself." Oh yeah… she told Russel.

"I'm just a little depressed, that's all. Once I eat and get some rest, I should be fine," she lied before taking a few bites of her food. Nothing else was said and dinner was eaten in silence. And everyone went back to what they were doing before in silence.

Charley stood outside and looked out onto the city. She then ran her thumb over the ridges of the diamond choker she got a few months before. From Murdoc. Part of her wanted to throw it out into the graveyard, the other part wanted to put it on and never take it off. She looked at it sparkle in her hand, reflecting the lights from the city below. It was truly beautiful. She felt a soft pressure on her leg. She looked down to find her little calico kitten.

"Come here, you. I need to love on you," she said as she picked up the cat and cuddled her. The animal purred quietly as Charley stroked her fur. She remembered what Murdoc had said when he gave it to her,

"_I figured you needed a companion to comfort you when I do something stupid."_ Technically, he didn't really do anything that he hadn't before. But she had felt like he was doing everything for her because he might see her as more than just a band mate. He had given her gifts, treated her kindly, even gave her a wing all to herself. But this was _Murdoc_. Murdoc never did anything unless it benefited him.

"Who was I kidding? I'm a hopeless romantic who is lonely and imagines things to make her self feel better. I'm doomed to a life with no real romance," she said as she set the cat down and started to cry into her hands. She was so upset, she hadn't noticed someone had joined her out on the balcony. At least, not until she felt cool metal against her neck and heard a soft "click". She looked to find that the choker was no longer on the railing and seemed to be around her neck. She turned to find Murdoc behind her, looking somewhat concerned.

"I know something is wrong and I know it's probably my fault. I want to know what I can do to make you happy," he said with a sad smile.

"I'm just depressed," Charley insisted, wiping away her tears.

"That is bull crap. You know it and I know it. Don't lie to me, Charley," the bassist warned. The red-head looked down at their feet, feeling her heart sink into her stomach.

"I'm trying for a stupid reason. It's something that will never change, no matter how much I wish it would. And I just realized today how much it bothered me," she said as she felt her kitten rub against her shoulders.

"Well, you may not know how to change it, but maybe someone else might," the bassist responded, resting his hand on the top of her head. Charley shook her head.

"No. There is really no one who can change it. It's like trying to make the Earth stop spinning," she said, sitting down and leaning on the railing.

"Come on, Charley. Tell me what's wrong. Even if I can't fix it, I might be able to help you find a way around it," Murdoc said, joining the young woman on the floor. Charley sighed at looked at him.

"What if it's something you're doing," she asked. An expression of confusion appeared on the bassist's face.

"Something _I'm_ doing? What could I possibly be doing to upset you?" he asked, sounding slightly offended. The girl shook her head again.

"It's stupid. Forget it," she said, bringing her knees up to her chest.

"Charley, I want to know. You're important to me," he said, trying to look her in the face.

"If I'm so important to you, why are you sleeping with countless women? Why are you risking your life to get a quick fuck? If I'm so important to you, then why are you spending money on something you already have?" the young woman snapped. Murdoc was taken aback.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he snapped back, not one to just let things roll of him.

"You go and hire women to have sex with you and yet I'm sitting here watching you go off with them while I'm sitting alone, hoping one day I might be back at your side. But isn't that the Murdoc way? Never actually make a commitment to anyone except your band," Charley shot, almost feeling dread about just unleashing her thoughts.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up. The thing you've been crying about all day is that I've been sleeping with women and you're jealous?" the bassist asked, sounding slightly amused. Well, no turning back now.

"Yeah. I'm jealous. Apparently I'm not good enough. Apparently I'm not sexy enough. Apparently my boobs aren't big enough. I'm just not enough to fulfill your fetishes. But you know what, even if you did love me back, it wouldn't work because chances are a relationship in the band would break us up," she confessed, feeling tears come back to her eyes. Part of her wanted to run away and hide in a hole for all eternity, but the part that was in control forced her to stay put. There was a moment of silence.

"You are either extremely stupid or you're blind," Murdoc said after what felt like an eternity of silence. It was Charley's turn to be confused.

"There is a reason I've been doing all of this. Do you think that I would make any of the other band members a wing? Do you think I would give them stuff when they got upset? Do you think I would have sex with them? No! Yeah, I get that we can't have a relationship together. I don't want to screw up over 7 years of work. But are you seriously so dumb as to think I don't _want_ to be with you? If I kept having sex with you, the others would notice. Then they would think I'm playing favorites, and finally our band would break up. I sold my soul to the devil for this band, if I don't keep it up, I basically would be dragged down to Hell to be ass raped. It's not that I don't care, 'cause if I could, I would be with you, but I can't," the bassist explained, finally running his fingers through his hair out of stress.

Charley sat in silence, absorbing everything that she was told.

"I'm not stupid or blind. I just thought that you wouldn't do all those things out of the goodness of your heart or because you loved me," she confessed.

"Well, leave the thinking to me. You think to much anyway," Murdoc said, throwing his arm over her shoulders. The red-head leaned on him as they sat in the dark, listening to the sound of their own breathing and the sound of the sleeping city below. This was one of those moments where words were not needed and that their company was all that was required.

End

Authors Notes: Woo! It's finally done! It took me a little over two years, but it's done! I'm thinking about doing an Epilogue of 3 years later. Thank you to everyone who supported me while I was writing this, and thank you- dear reader, for reading it! Now I need to get up, my but has fallen asleep…


End file.
